Those You've Known
by Compulsive Bowler
Summary: Natalie goes to NYC to find her older cousin who was supposedly a devil to her family for guidance in her life and picks up a reality check on life on the way. Written for iNvIsIbLe GiRl 12
1. Alphabet City

A/N This story is for iNvIsIbLe GiRl 12 for being the first to get my references on a different story, way to know your stuff! Obviously a RENT/N2N crossover. Takes place in 2003, 13 years post RENT and just a little bit post N2N but not by much maybe a few months. Reviews are the best thing since the invention of deodorant and body sprays, so show the love and leave 'em! And as much as I love Nat/Henry, Henry isn't in this story so it's gonna be Nat/Mark.

_Natalie POV_

Walking down avenue B, I was about to meet my cousin for the first time. Sure I had heard plenty of stories, but it's not the same. According to my dad he was the golden boy of the world, kinda like Gabe would have been, but according to mom he was a demon child with these crazy ideas about not working for a living and just not eating. I thought it sounded kinda cool.

When I finally made it to his building at first I thought I had the wrong place, but then I remembered I had to call so he could throw down the keys. One problem, he had no clue I was coming. Even more than that, he had no clue who I was! But I had to go, it's not like I really had another option.

I got into the old phone booth (I'm surprised they still even had them) and inserted the 50 cents to make a call. The dial tone came on then a man picked up the phone who had a quiet, sweet voice.

"Hello is Roger Davis there?"

"May I ask who's calling?" he asked politely.

"Uhm, well I'm his cousin, I'm in the city and I really need a place to stay for a while," I said trailing off.

"Well he's not here right now, but I can toss down the key to you," he offered.

"Thanks that'd be great," I responded. For not knowing me, he was very kind.

I walked up to the top floor of the building which I'm guessing was once some sort of music publishing factory. I opened to door and walked in to find a man, the one I talked to on the phone I guessed, making some tea on a hotplate.

"Hi, my name is Natalie," I figured it would only be rude not to introduce myself, after all, it was his home too I guessed.

He smiled sweetly before replying, "Mark. Mark Cohen"


	2. Somebody to Love

A/N Hey everyone. So chapter 2...yeah. I apologize for the brevity for both the previous chapter and this one. I'm in a bit of a time crunch, but I'm trying to update ASAP on all of my stories. Enjoy!

Natalie immediately took to Mark, and they were soon talking as if they had known each other for years. Just as they were laughing about the latest movies and about ruled suburbia, just as soon as Natalie wasn't worried anymore, Roger came in.

"Uhm Mark, if you wanted the loft for _that_," Roger said making air quotes, "you could've just asked I wouldn't mind."

"Rog," Mark said, his face turning the color of a ripe tomato, "believe it or not, she's not my- whatever. She's your cousin, Natalie." Mark explained slowly as so Roger could process it without freaking out.

"My what? Mark, I think you were tricked into letting her in," Roger said while cautiously eyeing Natalie.

"No," Natalie said slowly as if speaking to a 2nd grader, "My parents are your Aunt Diana and Uncle Dan. Goodman, you remember them at least right?"

"Ohhhh yeah. I remember them. How's little Gabe? Last time I saw him I was four," Roger asked innocently. Clearly he had no clue what happened.

"Roger, Gabe died when he was a baby. My mom was diagnosed bipolar and depressed because she saw him "grow up" when he was gone. So she left, and my dad just isn't the same anymore. So I left. I couldn't take being there anymore, it was just too sad," Natalie explained.

"Come here," Roger said warmly like a teddy bear opening his arms for her to hug him.

"Thanks Roger, I needed that." She confirmed his thoughts about her, this chick needed a family. Not a shitty one like her parents, but a real family. Like them.

"So I see you've met Mark," Natalie nodded in confirmation. "He looks scrawny and weak, but he's ok. Ps…he is single if you're in the MARKet," Roger said suggestively infusing the sentence with hidden meaning.

"Does he do this all the time?" Natalie asked Mark.

"What try to set me up? Yupp. I've gotten used to it." Mark said rather nonchalantly. The next few hours were spent catching up, asking questions to/interrogating Natalie to make sure she was a good character, and telling her about everyone else in the group while getting drunk. Natalie politely declined due to her past experience with drugs. Not fun. After Roger passed out, Mark and Natalie found themselves alone again.

"So," she started awkwardly, "sorry about you and Maureen. She seems like a real nutjob."

"She's alright, but I do need time with normal people. I don't get that much anymore. I guess that's why it's so nice talking to you," Mark offered sweetly, but Natalie looked more disappointed than anything. _Is that the only reason he's still talking to me? I thought we really had something, _Natalie thought. When Mark caught on to her disappointment and replied,

"Not that I don't like you, I-I really do actually," Mark said unsure of where it was going at first, but by the end of the sentence Mark knew exactly what he meant. His body knew what he meant so much that by the end of the sentence, Mark and Natalie were about 2 inches apart from each other.

Mark leaned in closer and pressed their lips together with caution, but once she started kissing him back he wrapped his arms around her and mustered as much passion and love into the kiss as one man and his roommate's cousin can get.

Natalie in return, laced her hands through Mark's soft, blonde hair while her tongue tried to push its way into Mark's mouth. He opened up for her and their tongues collided, smashing into each other with unbridled love.

After about 3 minutes of this, they finally broke apart.

"Wow," was all Natalie could say, not that she wasn't ecstatic about what just happened.

"I-I'm sorry," Mark stuttered, "I shouldn't have done that."

"Mark," Natalie started firmly, but not angrily, "I know we've only known each other for about 8 hours, but I thi- never mind."

"What!" Mark almost yelled but didn't want to come off too abrasively. "Whatever it is you can tell me. If you hate my guts tell me, if you love me tell me, but please don't just

leave me to think about it. Please for my sake?"

Instead of a verbal answer to Mark's plea, Natalie hugged Mark with all of the strength in her body murmuring "I love you's" into his sweater. And for the first time since she and Henry had their last breakup, Natalie didn't feel alone.

A/N AWWWWW Why can't I be Natalie? Reviews to the story are like Roger and Mark, inseparable except by Natalie.

Up next, does Mark want it out in the open? Or does he want to keep it behind closed doors.


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